


Brand New Boy

by indelibleink89



Series: A Life of Deviancy [3]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Like thats literally all this is, Mild swearing because Hank, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-10-04
Packaged: 2019-07-24 21:49:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16183850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indelibleink89/pseuds/indelibleink89
Summary: Hank comes home with a new haircut and Connor realizes maybe appearances matter.





	Brand New Boy

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: This is short and basically self indulgent fluff. I hope you like it!!

It was 18:35:16 on June 7th, 2039 when Hank walked through the front door, causing Connor to turn from where he was making dinner to subsequently stare at the man. He didn’t have to scan him to notice the difference. 

“Hank.” He started, catching his attention from where he was petting Sumo. “You’ve gotten a haircut.” His tone was his usual matter-of-fact, but his eyes were wide. He supposed he should have calculated that this would happen, as often as the man had been complaining about recently. Even without being affected by the weather as a human was, Connor knew that the heat was starting to get uncomfortable. 

“Yeah.” Came his gruff voice. “Figured it was about time.” He ran a hand over the inch of white hair that was left on the top of his head, then through the now clean beard that still adorned his chin.

“I like it!” Connor nodded his approval. It certainly helped to see his face better. In fact, Hank was looking better in general these days. The android noted the weight loss, the fact that he’d significantly cut back on drinking, and the way he wasn’t _quite_ so grumpy to get up by 8am for work. He was by no means back to his glory days, but it was a far cry from the way Connor had found him. He couldn’t help the soft smile that found its way onto his lips as he returned to his work. He had to wonder if his presence in the Lieutenant’s life was more of an influence than he’d originally thought. If that were the case, he would happily continue that influence. 

“Thanks.” Hank replied happily. “Hell, I feel like a brand new boy, if I’m bein’ honest. Might even go out and get some new clothes. Really throw everyone off.” He chuckled at himself as he leaned against the counter, eyeing the pasta Connor was currently letting boil.

The android thought on this for a moment, before turning to look at his partner again. “Does changing your appearance really do that much to make you feel better about yourself?” He watched Hank’s eyes flick to his LED as it pulsed yellow.

With a shrug, he answered. “Yeah, I s’pose. It’s therapeutic for a lotta people. Makes you wanna have a… fresh start, I guess. Self care and all that.” 

Self care. The only type of self care Connor had been programmed with was to keep himself safe in dangerous situations. There was nothing there for his emotional well being. Maybe he could learn from Hank. With amusement he realized that this was not something he’d expected to learn from the man. “I see. Thank you, Hank.” 

Hank shoved a lopsided grin on his face, “No problem, kid. I’m always available for nuggets of wisdom.” For some reason, this seemed to amuse the man endlessly and he began cackling as he all but shoved Connor out of the way to finish what the android had started. Before Connor could protest, he said, “I can make my own damn dinner. Go do something fun. You’ve been cooking for me all week. I’m not an invalid.” There was no bark to his voice, but he gave Connor a stern look that he knew would be pointless to refute. 

So, with a rather dramatic sigh (which Hank rolled his eyes at), Connor left the kitchen with the intention of heading for the couch. However, his feet began to take him in another direction. Before he knew it, he was standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom. 

Connor had never given too much thought to his own appearance. Outside of the blazer Hank had given him, he’d never really even changed his clothes. For a moment, he studied his face, noting the pulsing blue LED at his temple and wondered what people saw when they looked at him. 

He’d been designed to be unassuming if he wanted, but also able to express a wide array of emotions. He supposed by human standards, he wasn’t ugly. Hank had elbowed him enough times when they were out to let him know that he’d just been hit on for him to come to the conclusion that he was attractive. If he was being honest, he liked his eyes. He liked the color. 

A thought struck him then. Maybe he could change his appearance, too. There wasn’t much he could do for his face, but he did have a number of various hairstyles and colors he could use. His programming was somewhat more advanced than the average android, which was meant to allow him to go undercover easier when the need would arise. Thankfully so far, it had not.

Still, as he studied himself, he wondered what it was he would really prefer to see. What would be more _him_. 

He started cycling through the styles, frowning at anything too different. Maybe he didn’t need a drastic change. It took ten minutes before he finally settled on something, the corners of his mouth upturned. The sides of his hair were short, almost buzzed, but the top was still longer. The notable difference was the curls that added a bit of volume. He noticed, not unpleasantly, that one piece of hair that still fell forward towards his eye. Yes. He liked this. 

As he cycled through the colors available, he again found himself resistant to anything that was too different. In fact, when he was done, it was basically the same. Albeit a bit darker.

Okay, so maybe he wasn’t so great at this ‘fresh start’ business. But, it was something. 

His gaze shifted once more to the LED. Did he want to take it out? Many androids already had at this point. They felt it helped them blend in. Yet, he found himself hesitant. Connor wasn’t ashamed of being an android. Mostly, he didn’t care that people knew what he was. The only times it affected him was when he would receive the looks of disgust, as if it were inherently _wrong_ that he wasn’t human. Maybe it was his defiance, but he decided to leave it. People could judge him if they wanted. It didn’t change anything.

When he was satisfied with what he’d done, he retreated to the kitchen. He found Hank in the middle of eating, somehow managing to avoid chiding the man for how much sauce he was using. 

When the lieutenant caught sight of the change, Connor saw the smirk form on his face. “Well, look at you.” 

The android offered a small smile, “Do you like it?” 

Hank shrugged. “Doesn’t really matter what I think. To be honest, it’s not that crazy. I almost expected to see you walk out here with blue hair or somethin’.” 

Connor found himself mimicking Hank’s shrug. “I was… wary to make too much of a change. This was what I was comfortable with. For now.” 

“I do like it.” Hank confirmed. “Very… fluffy.” Connor recognized the teasing in his voice and absently raised a hand to touch the now curly hair on his head. “I see you’ve still got your light show.” 

At this Connor nodded. “It didn’t feel right to remove it.” 

“I don’t mind. Makes it easier to tell when you’re lyin’ to me.” Hank chuckled a bit. 

Connor hadn’t thought of this before. “Maybe I _should_ remove it, then.” He found himself teasing. 

“Hah.” Hank said sarcastically. “Hilarious.” 

A grin found its way on Connor’s face before he added, “I’d like to go with you when you do your shopping, if that’s alright.” He glanced down at himself. “I think I could find something… different. At least for when I’m not working.” He could do that. He couldn’t handle a full wardrobe change, but a little bit different for his downtime would be alright. 

“Yeah, sure.” Hank replied, tone supportive. “We can do whatever you want.” 

“Thank you, Hank.” He said for the second time that evening. Hank grumbled at that, but smiled all the same. 

—-

As it turned out, looking for new clothes was more overwhelming than he’d originally thought. It was certainly more of a chore than his hair had been. There was just _so much_ to choose from. It didn’t help that Hank had taken them to the biggest department store in the city. 

“So you have options.” He’d said. 

Connor very much did not like having so many options. 

For about 20 minutes he’d even contemplated giving up and just sticking with what he had. Hank was adamant, however, that he at least find one different outfit. 

“I’m tired of seein’ you wear the same damn thing every day.” He’d complained. 

Irritated, Connor had walked off in a huff to look at a different assortment of clothes. What was so wrong with wearing the same thing? He wasn’t human. It didn’t dirty the same way. 

In the end, he did find something different. Something he actually liked very much. 

As he came out of the dressing room to show Hank, who’d already bought himself “half the damn store before you even found a fucking tee shirt”, he smiled. 

“Where the fuck did you find a sweater like that in the middle of June?” Was the first thing out of Hank’s mouth as he surveyed him. 

“In the clearance section.” Connor answered matter-of-factly.

The sweater in question was a pastel blue cotton blend. Underneath he’d put a short sleeve white button up, the collar poking out. He’d paired it with a light wash skinny jean and suede boots. It was a surprisingly comfortable outfit, even if he did already miss his tie. 

Hank shook his head before teasing, “All you need right now is a pair of thick rimmed glasses and we’d have ourselves a regular hipster on our hands.” 

Connor did an image search and rolled his eyes. “Glasses would be pointless for me, Hank.” He quipped sarcastically. “And unfortunately, I lack the capability to grow a beard.” 

“Your attitude is pointless, mister.” Hank chided, crossing his arms. He looked very much like an impatient parent and Connor had to bite back a smile at the sight. “But, you look nice or whatever. So, can we finally go? The human is hungry. And we’re stopping at a damn drive thru because I deserve it after this nonsense.” 

“Yes, sir.” Connor finally let himself smile. Underneath the growl, the android knew he was happy.

Hank gave him a disapproving look at the use of the word ‘sir’, but he let it go. So, Connor wordlessly went back into the fitting room to change back into his normal clothes. 

By the time they got home, Connor did feel better. Variety wasn’t something he was used to, but he figured he could ease into it. He was already excited to get back into the sweater, despite Hank calling him crazy. It didn’t matter. For him, this was a win. Hopefully the first of many. Besides, he saw the sly smile that the man had thrown him when he thought he wasn’t looking. Connor was happy with what he’d done, and that was all that mattered.

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo whenever I read DBH fics, I usually picture Connor as Bryan Dechart with an LED in the side of his head. This was pretty much me making an excuse to continue to do that and not be wrong lmao.
> 
> P.S. I have literally no one to beta read my stuff, so if anyone would like to do that, please let me know. I have quite a bit more I want to do in this series, so it would be hella helpful.


End file.
